In the News

Embracing Trends in Social Networks

Reputation is one of the most valuable assets companies possess, but controlling it amid the rising influence of social media is a growing challenge. Financial services personnel who naively think their company has no presence on social network sites are sadly mistaken, according to Mark Pack, head of digital at MHP, a London-based public relations consultancy.

The first thing Mr Pack points out to clients seeking direction on online strategy is that they already have an online presence. This is because a large proportion of an asset manager’s staff have personal profiles on social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook on which they have identified their affiliation with their company. He knows of at least one example of unfavourable news breaking about a company that had failed to pay attention to its public profile online. Top of the Google search returns was the Facebook profile of the company chief, including plenty of references to drunken partying – a public relations nightmare.